Effective management strategies for identifying and treating preterm labor are required to prevent preterm birth. Early births resulting from preterm labor result in a heavy burden of infant mortality and morbidity. Preterm birth is a factor in three-quarters of neonatal mortality and one-half of long-term neurologic impairment in children.
Early detection and management of preterm labor helps to prevent preterm birth and its potential neonatal sequelae, which include respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, intraventricular hemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis, patent ductus arteriosus, and hyperbilirubinemia; however, widespread treatment of women with signs and symptoms of preterm labor has not significantly reduced the prevalence of preterm birth in the United States, underscoring the need to improve current methods for detecting preterm labor.